First of all, Happy Lunar New Year to all! Growing up, this was my favourite holiday season ever because it meant endless snacking (and the real kind too, not wagon wheels) of prawn crackers, jerky (!!), love letters and loads and loads yummy food.
Before I dive into a whole day of prepping food for Day 1's dinner with some friends at home, I thought I'd finally share the second series of our Wild Atlantic Way trip :-) Nothing quite like the magic of all it during the festive season, eh?
These were taken at Spanish point beach, where I leapt out of the car for some sea breeze but quickly ran away because it got too cold. I was also happy to the point of double chins. Oh yeah.
I've told this story many times before but when I was around 5, I was devastated to find out that magic wasn't real. (After I asked my grandma 'how can I buy magic?!') I spent the next 2 hours napping the sorrows away. But I guess it was short-lived because by 9, I was gifted the first three Harry Potter books and I loved it. I even tried putting on English accents in my bedroom, swishing a plastic wand.
Those were the days.
But all hope was not lost.
Cliffs of Moher is one of those magical places – it's beautiful in all seasons, and all weather. I've been here about 3 times now because my family is basically obsessed with Ireland. But this time around, getting back into the car and driving along the coastal route and arriving to see it as an 'adult' was something that caught me off guard.
Its stretches along the coast of County Clare (how cute are these County names) for 8 kilometres with views over the Atlantic Sea. It overlooks Aran Islands (where a lot of wool jumpers are from!) and Galway Bay; these gorgeous cliffs are more than a pretty face though, becuase it dead drops into the unforgiving ocean at the highest point of 214m.
We went on a relatively sunny but mildly cloudy day, which wasn't the best for photographs but I enjoyed the rolling mists and dusty silhouettes.
Unsurprisingly, it's the backdrop for Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince an that epic cave scene, where drama happens.
The reason I called this trip one of those that clenches the hearts of hearts, rending your soul into pieces is because of places like these. It's bizarre and strange to imagine the history beneath your soiled New Balance shoes, where rainfall carried sand and mud and salt to erect a monument so grand and imperfect, and a spectacle I could never and would never live through in my lifetime.
In the harsh rays of the winter sun and streaming American tourists, was a resplendent moment of clarity: nothing matters so much more than now.
We stayed in a town called Liscannor, and had dinner in Lahinch. I still can't get over the names of places, and they stay in a special places in my brain. Ha.
I hope you are having a good weekend filled with food and love!
Have you ever been to the Cliffs? I feel so out of the loop from blogging because I've been busy (being so sleepy all the time) but let's catch up :-)
